When heaven bombs us: what are cosmic rays?

In this popular work the author reviews all the knowledge that has been accumulated through years of theoretical results, of experimental data, and of assumptions concerning cosmic radiation. All the aspects of cosmic radiation are examined: possible origins, detection and detectors, interaction with the earth atmosphere, types of particles, gamma bursts, range of the incident energy, and the existence of cosmic accelerators. The author highlights that our understanding of the universe is far from being complete and that a lot of things remained to be discovered. (A.C.)